How to find E-Business Suite Recommended Patch List

The Oracle EBS recommended patch list is tool available from MOS, which consists of recommended patches for EBS products. This is tool is available for old customers 11i and R12. This list is updated by Oracle regularly and this will help you to identity required patches for patch set level. On regular basis the file infobundle11.zip will generated and uploaded to MOS. This file contains high priority patches. Patch wizard can query installed patched, pre-requisite patches. For more details Patch Wizard can be found in the Oracle Applications Maintenance Utilities manual in chapter 5. 

Steps to execute Recommended Patch List

– Login into Metalink/MySupport

– Select the Patches & Updates Tab

– Select the required link under the Recommended Patches

> Oracle eBusiness Suite R12

> Oracle eBusiness Suite 11i

Patch Tracking Utilities

It is important to keep track of the patching status of your system. This chapter describes how to identify patches that have not been applied to your system, and how to maintain any customized files.

This chapter covers the following topics:

• Patch Wizard
  
• Register Flagged Files
  

Patch Application Assistant

For patches that have manual steps, the patch readme file instructs you to use Oracle Patch Application Assistant (PAA) to create customized instructions for your system. PAA consolidates and displays only the relevant manual steps for all the patches you want to apply, including steps that you have completed. It also automatically merges the contents of individual patch readme files for a merged patch.

Requirement: How do I know which manual steps associated with a patch apply to my system?
Sorting through the manual steps in a patch readme file to determine which ones apply to your system can be time-consuming. The Patch Application Assistant allows you to create a customized set of steps to that apply to your unique instance. Using the information on this list reduces the possibility of performing steps that are not necessary or that have been completed previously during the application of another patch.

When you download and unzip a patch, it delivers a static README.html file that advises you if the patch requires manual steps. If manual steps are required, you can generate a list of the steps by running a Perl script (admsi.pl) to initiate PAA. Once you have generated the list, use the PAA interface to see a full list of steps, or only those steps that apply to your system.

After successfully performing each manual step, you can record that it was completed. When applying patches in the future, this information is displayed in the PAA interface so that you can see which manual steps you have already performed. Unless specified otherwise, you can previously completed steps.

To run PAA
1. Download the patch that you want to apply and set (source) your environment.
2. Run the admsi.pl script to generate customized installation instructions.
$ admsi.pl

The Oracle Patch Application Assistant welcome page appears:
Oracle Patch Application Assistant Welcome Page

You can select:
– View instance-specific instructions for a new patch.
– View generic instructions as shipped by Oracle for a new patch – to view all the generic manual steps for a particular patch, including the completed steps.
– Look at all incomplete tasks from previous patches – to view all the manual steps that have not been completed from previous patches.

3. Select View instance-specific instructions for a new patch. Enter the APPS password, and select the location where the patch is staged. Click Next.
The Summary of Installation Instructions page appears:
Oracle Patch Application Assistant Summary of Installation Instructions Page

This page summarizes all the manual steps for the patch, grouped into the following categories: Preparation Tasks, Pre-Install Tasks, Apply the Patch, Post-Install Tasks, Finishing Tasks, and Additional Information. This page displays only those categories in which there are manual steps.
4. Click the plus-sign icon in each category for more detailed information. For example, if you click the plus-sign icon next to Best Practices, the Preparation Tasks screen appears with the tasks suggested for preparing your system for patching.
Oracle Patch Application Assistant Preparation Tasks Page

5. After you have completed all the manual steps in a category, check the Completed box to record the completion status in the database, then click Next. If a patch that you apply in the future contains any of the same manual steps, it will be marked as completed to inform you that you do not have to perform that task again.
After you have completed all manual steps in all categories, the system returns you to the Summary of Installation Instructions page.
Oracle Patch Application Assistant Summary of Installation Instructions Page

Note the column of Completed boxes that corresponds to each task in a category. Check marks appear in the boxes for which you have completed manual steps.
6. Click Save to record tasks completed in the database. Click Cancel to exit PAA.

Patching Concepts

• Fixing an existing issue

• Adding a new feature or functionality

• Updating to a higher maintenance level

• Applying the latest product enhancements

• Providing interoperability to new technology stacks

• Determining the source of an issue

• Applying online help

Patch File Structure
Patches generally consist of a top-level directory that may contain several files, and one or more subdirectories. The top-level directory is named <patchnum>, where <patchnum> is the number of the patch. The most important files in the top-level directory are: README.txt, README.html and the unified driver file (named u<patchnum>.drv).

Readme File
The README.txt or README.html file describes what the patch does. If the patch contains manual steps, then the readme file provides information on using Oracle Patch Application Assistant (PAA) to generate customized installation instructions. If the patch does not contain manual steps, the readme file provides instructions for running AutoPatch to apply the patch.

Unified Driver File
The unified driver, named u<patchnum>.drv, contains the commands necessary to change files and database objects, and to generate new objects. It contains a sequential list of copy, database, and generate instructions, which are arranged in sections. You typically run the unified driver on all APPL_TOPs. AutoPatch runs only the actions that are required for the current APPL_TOP. However, there may be scenarios where you run only the applicable portion of the driver. In these cases, the readme file directs you to run PAA to generate the specific instructions.

Patch Formats

Individual bug fix:
A patch that fixes an existing issue.

Product family release update pack (product family RUP)
An aggregation of patches on a given codeline created for all products in specific product family for a specific point release. For example, R12.FIN_PF.A.1.

Release update pack (RUP)
A cumulative aggregation of product family release update packs on a given codeline created across Oracle E-Business Suite after the initial release. For example, 12.1.1.

Pre-upgrade patch
All upgrade-related, high-priority patches consolidated from all the products within a product family. Pre-upgrade patches are released as needed.

Consolidated upgrade patch
All upgrade-related patches consolidated from all the products in a product family. These patches are released as needed and are only available for upgrading a Release 12 system from one point release to another.

Codelines
In Release 12, Oracle E-Business Suite patches are grouped into codelines. A codeline begins with a point release (for example, Release 12.0) consisting of a unique set of product features, and progresses to include all the patches created to maintain that point release. The initial Release 12.0 point release introduced codeline A. Additional point releases introduce new codelines, each identified by a unique letter. For example, Release 12.1 introduced codeline B, and Release 12.2 is expected to introduce codeline C

Codelevels
Patches associated with codelines not only implement a set of product features for that point release, but also provide fixes to that set of features. We describe this unique set of product features for a point release as a codelevel and assign it a unique number. The following diagram illustrates how codelines and codelevels might be associated with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.